Month: May 2009

Ravich: Mets Manuel On Hot Seat

New York Mets coach Jerry Manuel before a Mets...
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Karl Ravich of ESPN has an opinion piece up on the ESPN Baseball Tonight Clubhouse page about managers on the hot seat. He writes about Bob Melvin of the D-Backs being the first manager fired this season but Jerry Manuel and Joe Girardi being on the hot seat.

His reasoning for Manuel is that the team is now playing in Citi Field with high expectations. He also lists Omar Minaya’s comments about a lack of leadership on the team as a reason for Manuel to be concerned. Of course, the Mets problems late in games is an issue.

Personally, I don’t think that there’s a snowball’s chance in hell of Manuel being fired this season barring something shocking happening. The reason is purely financial. The Mets are still paying Willie Randolph this season. If they fired Manuel and hired someone else, they’d have three managers on the payroll. Nobody does that.

If the Mets don’t make the playoffs this season, I could see Manuel getting fired after the season. As a matter of fact, you can take that to the bank. Manuel signed a 2-year deal this off season. He wanted three years but they wouldn’t give it to him. That’s a strong sign that this is Manuel’s year to show that he can get the Mets to the playoffs.

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Game Preview: Mets at Giants [Game 34] May 14, 2009

giants-logoNew York Mets (18-15 Road: 6-7) at San Francisco Giants (18-15 Home: 12-5) 10:15 pm

John Maine (3-2 4.54) vs. Jonathan Sanchez (1-3 4.78)

TV: SNY  Radio:  WFAN

What to watch:  The Giants have won 5 of their last 7 games and are playing some good baseball right now. Sanchez, however, hasn’t won a game since April 17th. He’s a good young pitcher but is still a bit raw. Maine has won three starts in a row and is pitching as well as I’ve seen him since early last season. Get ready for some late night baseball.

Don’t forget to visit The Mets Report Live Game Chat during the game to chat with other Mets fans!

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Contest: Mets West Coast Road Trip Comments- May 2009

shea-good-bye1I’m running a contest during the Mets current west coast road trip swing that concludes in Boston next week. The contest is for the best comments on this site and there are two prizes. The first prize is a copy of the new book by Keith Hernandez and Matthew Silverman “Shea Good-Bye: The Untold Story of the Historic 2008 Season”. The second prize is a copy of the Maple Street Press Mets Annual 2009.

The only rules are that your shipping address must be in the continental United States and you’re ineligible for these prizes if you’ve already won a contest from The Mets Report since January 1, 2009. The contest ends on Sunday May 24, 2009 which is the last game of the road trip in Boston. So you have ten days to get your best comments in.

So feel free to chime because there should be plenty to comment about on this trip. Carlos Delgado may end up on the disabled list. Who will take Oliver Perez‘ start in Los Angeles on Monday? Will Tim Redding finally join the team? Comment now and thanks for participating.

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Mets Option Niese To Minors; Recall Figueroa

PORT ST LUCIE, FL - FEBRUARY 26: Pitcher Nels...
Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Jonathan Niese was optioned back to Triple-A Buffalo after a poor start against the Braves yesterday. Nelson Figueroa was recalled from Buffalo to take his place on the roster. Figueroa wasn’t on the Mets 40-man roster so they had to make a move to get Figueroa on the major league roster for the west coast road trip this week.

This spot in the rotation will come up again on Monday in Los Angeles. The reports from the minors are that Tim Redding is ready to join the Mets from the disabled list. So Figueroa might have another short stay in the majors.

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The Mets Report On Amazon Kindle

NEW YORK - FEBRUARY 09: A reporter holds the ...
Image by Getty Images via Daylife

You can now access The Mets Report on your Amazon Kindle. For those of you using the Kindle, go to The Mets Report Kindle page to register. This new service will allow you to get the New York Mets information from our site delivered to you daily in the convenient form that Amazon created with the Kindle.

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Braves 8 – Mets 7 May 13, 2009

The Mets lost to the Braves in 12 innings to lose the home series 2 games to 1. Jonathan Niese was terrible today unable to get out of the fifth inning after giving up five runs. Seven Met relievers combined to pitch the rest of the game. J.J. Putz gave up another run in the eighth inning to raise his ERA to 4.05. Ken Takahashi gave up the game winning home run to Martin Prado of all people in the twelfth.

I would guess this is Niese’s last game with the Mets. The word is that Tim Redding is about ready to come back from the disabled list.

The Mets offense was pretty solid with the highlights being Fernando Tatis hitting a grand slam in the fourth inning to take a 6-4 lead. Gary Sheffield hit a solo homer in the eighth to tie the game. Jose Reyes was 3 for 5 with 3 doubles including one off the top of the left field wall in the twelfth inning.

The Mets are off to San Francisco to begin a 10 game road trip.

51309

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